The Pumas could not say goodbye as they wanted. With a performance in which indiscipline paid dearly, the Argentine team fell 38-21 to South Africa in Durban and closed a new edition of the Rugby Championship in last place. Earlier, the All Blacks beat Australia 40-14 to clinch the title for the eighth time, thanks to a better lead than the Springboks.
Despite last week’s loss at home, Los Pumas stood as equals against the current world champion, and they battled for almost 20 minutes until Jasper Wies broke the scoreboard with the first try for the locals. Captain Siya Kolisi stretched the lead to 14-0 with another try ten minutes later. At that point, the Argentine infractions led to two yellow cards, too wide an advantage for the South Africans, who managed to take a 17-point lead with a Frans Steyn penalty.
However, between the end of the first half and the start of the second, Los Pumas supported a try through Gonzalo Bertranou and another through Juan Martín González, both converted by Emiliano Boffelli, who put the scoreboard on hold. A penalty try by the Springboks stretched the lead, but the Argentines immediately came back within range with a try by Gonzalo Moroni. At that point, the game had opened and it was for the definitive Argentine reaction or for the South Africans to liquidate the game.
And what prevailed was the green tide, which overwhelmed the Pumas defense and caused a new penalty try to sentence the game. Already in stoppage time, the South Africans again violated the visiting ingoal to seal the final 38-21, which seemed excessive due to the development of the game and ended up being a harsh punishment for the infractions committed by the South Americans.
Despite the defeat, Los Pumas completed their best production since they began participating in the Rugby Championship in 2012, as they beat Australia (48-17) and New Zealand (25-18), and lost 26-41 to the Wallabies, 3-53 with the All Blacks and with the Springboks, 20-36 and 21-38.
The Argentine national team will close its international season in November with a tour of the United Kingdom: on the 6th it will face England at the Twickenham stadium in London; on the 12th they will face Wales at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium and on the 19th they will play against Scotland at Murrayfield in Edinburgh.